GOP Presidential Candidates Debate National Security
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In this AEI debate video briefing, Gary Schmitt talks about the risks of a rising China.
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AEI's Michael Rubin says the question he would most like to ask the candidates about the Arab Spring "mess" is: Where would you like to see the Arab regimes two years from now, and what's your strategy to get there?
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Sir Jason Diaz on our Facebook page : wants the debate moderators to ask candidates about the BRIC nations. "their thoughts on an ever strengthening of Brazil? And if they think a strong Brazil is good for the US and the world?" -
Ahead of tonight's debate, the Obama reelection campaign has released a memo outlining Romney's (and only Romney's!) stances on various national security issues, asking, "Which of Gov. Mitt Romney's positions will he adamantly deny tonight?" You can read it here (note: it's a PDF). -

"Europe's deficit isn't measured in euros, it's measured in babies," says AEI's Nicholas Eberstadt. "When you're at serious sub-replacement fertility, all of your pay-as-you-go programs don't." Given the aging populations of our European and Asian allies, Eberstadt says he would like to ask the candidates: "What sorts of extra allies do you think we should have in the world in the years ahead? What sort of countries would you look for to be part of our alliance system?"
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The five things to watch for tonight, by Reuters' John Whitesides. Read it here. -

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Americans blamed the failure of Washington's debt "super committee" on Republican and Democratic lawmakers and President Barack Obama, although more than a third said it lowered their opinion of the president, according to Reuters/Ipsos poll results on Tuesday. Full Story -
Great question from Sue Smith on our Facebook page: Why isn't congress subject to the same "insider trading" rules as wall street? -

Joanne Allen will be joining us tonight to provide commentary and analysis of the debate, here's her recent post about Romney's first ad squarely aimed at President Barack Obama:
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s first television commercial attacking Barack Obama’s record hits the airwaves in New Hampshire on Tuesday — just in time to welcome the president on a visit to the early primary state.
A discussion of jobs was on the agenda for Obama’s quick trip to a high school in Manchester. But Romney didn’t wait for the president’s arrival.
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Tonight's debate, co-sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute, is the first presidential debate in Washington since a 1960 face-off between Democrat John Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon that helped launch Kennedy's run to the White House. -

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Gingrich is the new trendy leader in the polls, but we've seen that position shift many times in this early part of the campaign. Perry, Cain and Romney have enjoyed a brief moment at the top. Bachmann and Ron Paul have won their share of straw polls. This field is still fairly wide open. -
I'm honored that @michelebachmann was on our show yesterday and I'm so sorry about the intro mess. I really hope she comes back.by jimmyfallon via twitter 11/23/2011 12:43:55 AM -
Jimmy Fallon is referring to his band "The Roots" playing a song that mocked Michelle Bachmann as she made her way to join Fallon for an interview. For more on the incident, check out Grace Kiser's post at our Political Theater -
As we gear up for the debate one question is will it be gaffe patrol again, or will some kind of substantive policy statements come out of it. It's on foreign policy, and the Super Committee is on minds in Washington, but a big part of the failure of the committee is cutting of the defense budget. -

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Fun fact: Construction of DAR Constitution Hall began in 1928, and until the 1950s it had a glass ceiling providing "a view of the stars." -

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The American Enterprise Institute has prepared a thoughtful set of pre-debate video briefings, several of which are below, outlining questions they'd like to see the candidates get asked. You can also view them here. -

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You can suggest questions for the moderators to ask here or on twitter with #CNNDebate. -

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Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots at its troops
JERUSALEM - Israeli troops shot at a target across the Syrian frontier on Tuesday in response to gunfire that struck its forces in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.
- Obama urges Myanmar to stop violence against Muslims
- Guatemala's top court annuls Rios Montt genocide conviction
- Kerry visits Oman for arms deal signing, talks on Syria, Mideast
- Obama to meet with China's Xi in California June 7-8
- Chief Palestinian peace negotiator backs Kerry's efforts
- Canada's Harper under cloud after chief of staff resigns
- North Korea releases detained Chinese fishing boat, owner says


